


Tenider

by GeniusCactus



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:55:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21774811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeniusCactus/pseuds/GeniusCactus
Summary: After retiring from the pros, Tezuka hopes to lead a quiet life as a pet shop owner. However, his new assistant along with the latest and greatest app, Tenider, quickly prove to shatter that dream.
Relationships: Kikumaru Eiji/Ooishi Shuuichirou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Tenider

Kikumaru Eiji made quite the impression his first day of work, scrambling in 20 minutes late with his shirt untucked, name tag on backwards, and hair jutting out every which way. Tezuka would have fired him on the spot if he wasn’t in such pinch for a new assistant.

“Hi! Sorry I’m late! I promise I’m usually the early bird type, but things got a little out of hand this morning--” 

Kikumaru seemed a lot more reliable over the phone. But then again, Tezuka had been in a bit of a rush to find someone. His previous assistant only gave him 2 days notice before jetting halfway across the world. Something about a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ to save a rare species of cactus... 

“ _ But don’t worry, I have this friend perfect for the job _ ,” his ex-assistant had said, scribbling his friend’s contact info on a slip of paper.  __ _ “He’s great with animals. You’ll love him.” _

It wasn’t that Tezuka trusted his ex-assistant’s recommendation all that much. He just didn’t have much of a choice. With the holidays coming up, the pet shop was going to be busier than ever. Tezuka didn’t have time to post a job or set aside time to interview candidate after candidate. He needed someone immediately and Kikumaru would have to do until he found someone more suitable for the position.

Tezuka realized Kikumaru was still talking. He pushed up his glasses, nodding his head to give the illusion he’d been listening the entire time. 

“--But I left my toothbrush at home so I had to rush back during peak traffic--” Kikumaru gestured dramatically with one hand to show how far he had to travel “--I had some of those little disposable ones, but it isn’t the same, you know? I just couldn’t imagine going into my first day of work without a proper brushing, so I--”

“I’ll show you around,” Tezuka interrupted, feeling if he didn’t say something soon he’d stand there all day listening to Kikumaru’s dramatic toothbrush adventure. 

“This is the lobby,” Tezuka motioned to the room they were currently standing in. “The doors open to the public at 9:00 AM. It will be your job to greet anyone who comes in.” 

“Right-O!” Kikumaru said, following Tezuka down the hall.

“Here are the cats.” Tezuka said opening a door labeled CATS to let Kikumaru take a peek. Each cat had its own private house, scratching post, and view out a large window. All the cats turned their heads in unison to stare at the newcomer. 

When they exited the room Kikumaru clasped his hands together in delight, squealing “Oh, I love cats!” 

“Here are the dogs.” Tezuka said, walking across the hall and opening another door labeled DOGS. As soon as Tezuka opened the door, a chorus of yipping and yapping erupted from the room. Covering an ear with his free hand, Tezuka quickly shut the door with the other. 

“Oh, I love dogs!” Kikumaru said a little less enthusiastically. Tezuka had shut the door so fast he’d hardly gotten a good look at the dogs! As Kikumaru tried to imagine what types of dogs they might be as they walked to the end of the hallway towards the final door. 

“Here is our veterinarian.” Tezuka said knocking on a door labeled VETERINARIAN. 

“Oh, I love veter--” Kikumaru was starting to say, but then stopped abruptly as the door opened and he came face-to-face with a tall handsome man dressed in koi fish printed scrubs.

“--Oishi!?” 

“K-kikumaru!” Color quickly draining from his face, and Oishi looked as if he might need to take a seat. 

Tezuka had been in such a rush to hire a new assistant he didn’t think to check with Oishi first before hiring Kikumaru. It never crossed his mind that the two of them might know each other. 

For one long minute neither Kikumaru nor Oishi said anything. They stood gaping open mouthed like they were frozen in time. 

But time did not really stop. 

Tezuka could clearly see that from the way the exam room’s clock kept incessantly ticking away. It was almost 9, customers would arrive soon, and they had a laundry list of tasks to accomplish before then. Kikumaru and Oishi would just have to get over themselves and get back to work.

Just as he was about to say so, there was a sharp tug on Tezuka’s arm and he felt himself being dragged into the exam room. “Please excuse us,” Oishi choked out, slamming the door behind them both.

“So, you and Kikumaru know each other?” Tezuka asked. 

“Well, yes. Kind of. The thing is, um…” Oishi fiddled with the stethoscope around his neck, avoiding Tezuka’s gaze. “Kikumaru might have maybe been my Tenider date last night.” 

“What’s  _ Tenider _ ?” Tezuka frowned. It sounded like some awful disease. 

“Tenider Tezuka. It’s a new app for meeting tennis partners...among other things. Kikumaru and I had been talking through the app for a while. We hit it off well, so I asked him to play doubles at the street courts. It was supposed to be just a quick game, but I’d never felt so in sync with one of my doubles partners. It was... _ incredible _ ,” Oishi lowered his voice to a whisper, smiling fondly. “One thing lead to the next and you know... ” 

Tezuka didn’t know. 

But, if the tennis was that good, the only logical thing for them to do would be to play more tennis. And more tennis. They must have stayed up all night playing tennis! No wonder Kikumaru came in looking so disheveled. Well, if it was for tennis Tezuka could stand to forgive him.

Tezuka had once met someone like that. Someone who made him wish they could go on playing tennis together forever. And then, they did stay up all night playing tennis right after realizing they wouldn’t have a chance to play against each other in the Australian Open. It was a pretty reckless thing to do, seeing as the Australian Open wasn’t exactly over yet. Still, Tezuka’s never regretted acting on his impulsive desire to continue playing tennis until the sun came up. It was the best game of Tezuka’s life. And his last game before he quit the pros. 

Sometimes Tezuka still fantasizes about a rematch, secretly writing all the different ways it might go down in his diary.

“You must be very tired,” Tezuka finally said, remembering the way his eyes and body felt the day after.

Oishi nodded slowly, burying his head in his hands. “This is a disaster! Kikumaru’s never going to speak to me again. And what’s worse, he’ll think the only reason we hired him is--” 

The rest of what Oishi was saying was muffled out as Kikumaru himself barged into the room. 

“Oishi, listen, when I applied here I  _ never _ thought it would be the same place you work! I swear I’m not, like, trying to stalk you.”

Oishi jumped up turning his head in slow-motion, “And if I had known you were our new employee, last night I never would have...” 

Kikumaru leaned on the doorway smirking, “Oh, really? That’s too bad ‘cause I was hoping we could play  _ tennis _ again tomorrow after work.” 

“T-that sounds great!” Oishi stammered, face flushing a bright shade of red. 

Oishi had been playing tennis for over half his life, so Tezuka didn’t understand why he seemed so nervous and flustered. Nevertheless, Tezuka was pleased to see how well his co-workers seemed to be getting along. Perhaps hiring Kikumaru wasn’t a mistake after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> This thing has been sitting in my drafts for a long time. Originally it was supposed to be three chapters, but I don’t think I’ll have time to finish those anytime soon so I’m marking it as complete for now. Thank you for reading <3


End file.
